By CRAIG POTTER
Rochester’s 2-game winning streak is ended by the Bears, 3-2.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Rochester Americans were striving for the fourth time this season to win at least 3 games in a row, but came up short on Friday night against the Hershey Bears, 3-2, before 6,239 fans at the Blue Cross Arena.
The Amerks opened the scoring just 26 seconds into the action when defenseman Casey Nelson scored on a blast from the left point.
“We got the puck deep inside the Hershey zone and went to work early,” said Nelson. “That was part of the game plan and I am unsure if the goal was a part of the game plan that early but we will take it. We have been on the other side of falling behind and lately we have had good starts, but we would have liked to came out with the win.”
It was Nelson’s 6th goal of the season. Tim Kennedy and Justin Bailey assisted on the play.
However, 82 seconds later the Bears knotted the count against rookie goalie Jonas Johansson, who was making his fifth start of the season since joining the team on March 24. Johansson finished with 17 saves.
The Amerks regained the lead late in the period when rookie defenseman Brendan Guhle scored off assist from Justin Vaive and Daniel Muzito-Bagenda.
Rochester had a 2-man advantage for 1:12 on the power play in the second period, but was unable to beat Hershey netminder Phoenix Copley.
About 4 minutes later, however, the Bears capitalized on a power play opportunity to tie the game at 2-2. Hershey netted what proved to the be game-winner with under 2 minutes left in the stanza.
The Amerks applied pressure in the third period, outshooting the Bears 11-3, but were unable to notch the equalizer.
“I liked a lot of things about tonight’s game despite the result,” Amerks head coach Dan Lambert said. “Unfortunately, we were not able to capitalize on power-plays and we hit a few posts. Hershey got a few breaks tonight, as their power-play goal we sort of fell asleep and then at the end of the second period, they threw a shot from a bad angle that led to a goal. We did not get those breaks but I was pretty satisfied with the effort the guys had tonight.”
Rochester concludes the home stand with a game Saturday at 7:05 pm against the Utica Comets. The Amerks travel to Toronto for a 5 pm game against the Marlies on Sunday.
*NOTES – The Amerks announced on Friday that defenseman Brendan Guhle has been reassigned to the Amerks from the Prince George Cougars of the Western Hockey League by the Buffalo Sabres. In a similar move, the Amerks also signed forward Alexandre Goulet to an Amateur Tryout (PTO) for the remainder of the 2016-17 season. Guhle, 19, begins his second stint with the Amerks after registering a career-best 33 points (15+18) in 47 combined games between the Prince Albert Raiders and Prince George Cougars of the WHL. The 6-foot-1, 186-pound native of Sherwood Park, Alberta, has appeared in 233 career WHL games, recording 103 points (30+73) and 150 penalty minutes. Earlier this season, the second-round pick (51st overall) of the 2015 NHL Draft appeared in first three NHL games with the Buffalo Sabres, averaging 16:30 of ice-time. He also recorded four points (1+3), including his first professional, in four games with Rochester at the end of the 2015-16 campaign. Goulet, 21, recently completed his fourth season in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, where he led all Victoriaville Tigres in goals (39), assists (50) and points (89), all of which were career-highs. He finished the 2016-17 season ranked ninth in goals, 13th in assists seventh in points among the league’s top point-getters. In 258 career games between the Tigres and the Charlottetown Islanders, the 6-foot-0, 198-pound native of Disraeli, Quebec, has appeared in 262 games, earning 258 career points (133+125) to go with his 164 penalty minutes…The Buffalo Sabres also recalled goaltender Linus Ullmark from the Amerks on Friday. Ullmark (23, 6-foot-4, 221 lbs.) joins the team for his seventh recall of the 2016-17 season. Through 53 games in his second AHL season, Buffalo’s sixth-round pick (163rd overall) in the 2012 NHL Draft is 25-26-2 with a .909 save percentage and leads the league with 1,464 saves. The Lugnvik, Sweden native played 20 games for the Sabres as a rookie during the 2015-16 season, posting a .913 save percentage and a 2.60 goals-against average, but has not yet appeared in an NHL game this season. His 8-10-2 record in 2015-16 included wins in each of his last three NHL appearances…Forwards Justin Danforth, Troy Crena, and Alexander Goulet, along with defenseman Anthony Florentino were signed to Amateur Tryouts on Friday by the Amerks. Goulet made his pro debut on Friday.
Florentino, 22, begins his professional career following four seasons at Providence College (H-East), where he recorded 54 points (22+32) in 131 career games with the Friars. During his senior season, the 6-foot-1, 185-pound defenseman finished with a career-high 16 points and led all blueliners with nine goals in 30 games. As a sophomore, Florentino helped the Friars capture their first NCAA Championship in program history during the 2014-15 campaign. Following the tournament, the West Roxbury, Mass., native was named to the NCAA Frozen Four All-Tournament Team. He was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the fifth-round (143rd overall) in 2013 NHL Entry Draft.
Crema, 21, recently concluded a four-year collegiate career at Dartmouth College (ECAC). He posted a breakout year during his senior season, notching 29 points, including a career-high 17 goals in 31 games with the Big Green. The Toronto, Ontario, native graduated as the school’s active leader in goals (27) and ranks second in points (59) in 91 career appearances for Dartmouth. Following his final season with Big Green, the 5-foot-10, 180-pound blueliner was named to the 2017 All-ECAC Hockey Third Team and was an All-Ivy League First Team selection.
Danforth, 24, returns to the Amerks after appearing in two games with Rochester late last month. Prior to turning pro, he completed a four-year career at Sacred Heart University (AHA), where he closed out his senior season with a team-high 32 points (10+22) in 37 games for the Pioneers while serving as an alternate captain. The Oshawa, Ontario, native amassed 124 points, which is seventh all-time in program history, and finished fifth all-time with 82 career assists in 147 career games with the Pioneers. The 5-foot-9, 180-pound forward paced the team in scoring as a freshman, junior and senior during his four seasons at Sacred Heart University.
Fan Appreciation Night
The Amerks will hold Fan Appreciation Night presented by Tops Friendly Markets during the team’s final regular season home game on Friday, April 14 at the Blue Cross Arena versus the Albany Devils.
As a way of thanking Amerks fans for the tremendous support they have once again shown the team this season, the Amerks will be giving away great prizes during the game, with select Season Ticket Members receiving the Amerks blue jerseys “off the backs” of the players following the game. The first 7,500 fans in attendance will receive a 2016-17 Amerks Team Photo courtesy of Tops Friendly Markets.
In addition, the Amerks Team Store presented by ADPRO Sports will be offering a store-wide 40% discount on entire purchases during the team’s final three home games on Saturday, April 8 vs. Utica, Wednesday, April 12 vs. Binghamton and Friday, April 14 vs. Albany. Fans can take advantage of this special offer beginning at 3:00 p.m. through the end of the game on Saturday. The sale will resume again at 11:00 a.m. and run through the end of the game on Wednesday and Friday of next week. The 40% off discount can be applied to items that have been marked down as well as equipment, but excludes all Alumni and game authentic jerseys.
All tickets to the game are just $16 for best-available seating with $10 tickets available for kids 12 and under. Tickets for Fan Appreciation Night are available at www.amerks.com/fan. Friday’s game also marks the final $7 Mapco Value Parking Night of the season in the Civic Center Garage. The special $7 parking price represents a $3 savings off the regular cost of $10 for game night parking in the Civic Center Garage.
Tops is again offering a special ticket deal for its customers on Fan Appreciation Night. Any fan that shows their Tops Bonus Card at The Blue Cross Arena Box Office will be able to purchase best-available tickets to the game for just $12 each.
Fan Appreciation Night will kick off with the Genesee Pregame Happy Hour, where fans 21 and over can enjoy live music and $2 Genesee and Genesee Light drafts in the Genesee Brew House Upper Atrium Bar from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The band Something Else will perform live during the Happy Hour as well as during the first intermission.
Prior to the game, the 2016-17 Team Awards will be presented, including the Most Valuable Player, Most Improved Player, Rob Zabelny Unsung Hero and the Fairand O’Neil Sportsmanship Award. The winner of the “7th Man-Fan of the Year” will also be recognized while the winners of the Amerks Booster Club Awards, such as Rookie of the Year and Most Popular Player, will be announced.
Other prizes to be given away to select fans during the game will include a variety of Buffalo Sabres and Amerks autographed merchandise, as well as gift cards and coupons from various Amerks partners such as The Distillery, KeyBank, Life Storage, McDonald’s, Moe’s, Tops Friendly Markets, UR Medicine, Zweigles and more. Special-edition Fan Appreciation Night Mystery Pucks will be available for $10 in the upper concourse during the game as well, with each one signed by an Amerks player.
Links
Rochester Americans – amerks.com
Videos
Nick Baptiste shoots on power play – https://youtu.be/efcFB2J9MrE
Brendan Guhle celebrates goal – https://youtu.be/g0r97lYuHVI
Jonas Johansson makes save – https://youtu.be/UqrWn5rTDvI
Casey Nelson interview – https://youtu.be/EiFmJ9sdmuc
Brendan Guhle interview – https://youtu.be/pMjN46G6_-s
Alexandre Goulet interview – https://youtu.be/yF_RUKPODbc
Dan Lambert interview – https://youtu.be/foPaj_noi8U